Nigerian death toll tops 140

ABUJA, Nigeria — More than 140 people have been killed in a series of attacks in northern Nigeria's largest city, officials said Saturday, in what appears to be the deadliest strike yet by a radical Islamist group.

The attackers in Kano on Friday evening struck eight government security buildings, the national police said, including the regional police headquarters, two local police stations, the local headquarters of the State Security Service, the home of a police official and the state police command headquarters.

The radical sect Boko Haram said in a letter distributed to reporters on Saturday that the attacks were retribution for the arrests and killings of members of the sect.

Residents in Kano described bloody scenes of chaos and confusion as bombs exploded and gunmen started shooting in the street. "As we were running to go and hide, another one burst again," said Hassan Sheriff, who works at a Kano radio station, describing a bomb that went off nearby. "The police started shooting people. We were running around. The police fired at the crowd. We ran away, we can't stay there. Then another one burst. We heard more than 30 bomb blasts."